Fashion braces, as the name implies, are fake orthodontic wires and brackets that look like real braces but have no functional use in aligning teeth and jaws. Individual retailers are selling DIY fashion braces kits online, which include the “brackets” and “wires” and a dental adhesive to hold the fake appliance to the teeth. In more extreme scenarios, customers are visiting the homes of unqualified and unlicensed individuals to have fake braces applied to their teeth, which the internet has termed “basement braces.”

Fashion braces are the latest addition to the rising social media trends seen on several high profile influencers on TikTok, following tooth gems and non-prescription glasses. Fashion trend-chasers are racing to get their set. However, even if they only appear to be real, fashion braces can negatively impact your oral health, tooth alignment, and safety.

The Dangers of Fake Braces

If you are planning to achieve the metallic grin for a fashion trend, fashion braces can be a significantly cheaper option than the real thing. It can seem easier, more convenient, and more cost-effective to buy a DIY kit online and glue braces to your own teeth, but the health risks involved could ultimately raise the price tag. After all, if fashion brackets don’t fall off on their own, you may need to visit a dentist to get them (or the adhesives they can leave behind – this will require a professional fee) professionally removed. If you’re considering fashion braces, it’s essential to be aware of these serious health risks:

Uncontrolled Tooth Movements

Even though they are not designed or applied in a way that makes them functional orthodontic appliances, fashion braces are still glued and cured to your teeth. This applied pressure can naturally encourage your teeth to move, potentially leading to unwanted and detrimental misalignment and tooth damage. If this occurs, you may need to visit an orthodontist to correct the damage with real orthodontic appliances like traditional braces or aligners.

Poisoning

Fashion braces as sold online by local sellers or applied by unlicensed individuals who have not completed dental school or an orthodontic residency. Because fashion braces are not made, sold, or applied by medical professionals, it can be difficult to truly discern their ingredients, meaning fake brackets and wires may contain harmful and potentially poisonous chemicals like cadmium or lead. These metals, if present in the product and in your mouth for a long enough time, can cause liver damage, cancer, and heart disease.

Choking and Oral Cuts

Whether applied at home or in someone’s basement, having an unqualified individual apply any sort of appliance to your teeth comes with major risks of oral damage. The dental glue most often used for fashion braces is not the strong, medical-grade adhesive that orthodontists use, increasing the chance of the brackets or wires becoming loose and falling from the teeth. Loose wires or brackets can scratch and cut your gums and cheeks, and if they fall off completely, they become a choking hazard leading to dangerous consequences and potentially costly hospital bills.

Infections

Fashion braces might be made out of a material that can cause oral ulcerations leading to infection in the mouth. Unlike professional grade braces that are applied at Impressions Orthodontics, fake braces are not made or manufactured from medical-grade materials in sterile and safe environments such as Ormco or 3M. Low-quality materials can raise the risk of oral infection, especially if the fashion braces cut or irritate your gums and oral tissues. In fact, Thailand banned fake braces in 2018 after they caused infections that led to the deaths of two adolescents. Authorities found that the infections occurred when heavy metals seeped from the appliance into oral tissues.

Please call our office 403-457-7700 or text 587-875-0830 for further information or to set up an appointment with Dr. Nizam at Impressions Orthodontics in Calgary.